The 1st Engineer
Battalion is the oldest and most decorated engineer
battalion in the United States Army. The battalion's
history can be traced back to May 15, 1846 when a
company of Miners, Sappers, and Pontoniers was formed
at West Point, New York. Alpha Company, 1st Engineer
Battalion is that company's direct descendant. During
its long history, the battalion has received 67
decorations and campaign streamers and eight foreign
awards.

Alpha Companyserved gallantly during the
Mexican-American War of 1846, participating in the Vera
Cruz campaign and leading the charge up the formidable
heights of Chapultepec in Mexico City. During the war, Robert
E. Lee, George McClellan, and
P.G.T.
Beauregard served as lieutenants in Alpha
Company and lead the list of distinguished Americans
that have served in this battalion.

Alpha Company was
expanded into the Battalion of Engineer Troops during
the Civil War and was assigned to the Union Army of
the Potomac. The battalion served with distinction and
earned ten campaign streamers. The battalion fought at
Antietam, bridged the Rappanannock River six times at
Fredericksburg, breached fortifications at Petersburg
and was present at the surrender of General Lee at
Appomattox. The battalion's first Sergeant Major, Frederick
W.
Gerber, was awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor for his 23 years of service to the
battalion, which included the Mexican-American and
Civil Wars.

During the
Spanish-American War, Charlie and Echo companies of
the battalion were sent to Cuba where they fought in
the campaign to take the city of Santiago. The
remainder of the battalion was sent to the Philippines
where they provided engineer support during the
battles for Manila and Cavite. Alpha Company remained
in the Philippines and conducted pacification
operations during the Philippine Insurrection.

With the start of World
War I, the battalion was expanded to the 1st Engineer
Regiment and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division.
The regiment fought as part of the "Big Red One" and
participated in the Lorraine and Meuse-Argonne
campaigns and was awarded the French Fourragere and
two awards of the Croix de Guerre for valorous
service. Sergeant Wilbur E. Colyer of
Alpha Company received the Congressional Medal of
Honor for advancing under fire and destroying a series
of enemy machine gun positions near Verdun, France in
1918.

Prior to the start of
World War II, the 1st Engineer Regiment was
reorganized as the 1st Engineer Combat Battalion and
again assigned to fight as part of the 1st Infantry
Division. In 1942, the battalion landed with the
initial forces spear-heading the North Africa
invasion. In 1943, the battalion cleared underwater
obstacles and destroyed enemy pillboxes during the
landings on Sicily. During the Normandy landings at
Omaha Beach in 1944, the battalion led the assault
forces, breaching gaps in the extensive enemy mine and
wire obstacles and clearing the combat trails leading
off the beaches. The battalion received its third Presidential
Unit
Citation for actions at Omaha Beach and
received the Distinguished Unit Citation for combat
action at Gafsa, Tunisia, and Normandy. The battalion
fought as part of the 1st Infantry Division during the
remainder of the war in the European Theater and after
10 years of occupation duty moved to Fort Riley,
Kansas.

On May 2, 1965 the
battalion deployed to the Republic of South Vietnam as
part of the 1st Infantry Division. For five years the
battalion cleared obstacles, built roads, airfields,
base camps and bridges in support of numerous combat
operations including Junction City I and II and the
TET Offensive of 1968. The battalion became famous for
the Diehard Tunnel Rat section
that bravely cleared the extensive Vietcong tunnel
systems with little more than small arms and
demolitions. The battalion received four Meritorious
Unit Citations for actions during the Vietnam War.

During the next 20 years
at Fort Riley, the battalion took part in numerous
training exercises, NTC rotations, and REFORGER
deployments.

In December
of 1990, the battalion deployed to
Southwest Asia in support of Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. The battalion breached and cleared lanes through Iraqi obstacle belts that allowed the passage of two divisions. The battalion destroyed 58 Iraqi
tanks, 41 antiaircraft artillery pieces, and other large quantities of ammunition and war material. The battalion returned to Fort Riley in 1991 and
received the Valorous Unit Citation for actions in Southwest Asia.

Since 1991, the battalion participated in many NTC and JRTC rotations, fought fires in the Northwestern United States, and supported anti-drug operations as part of JTF-6. In 1995, the 1st Engineer Battalion was awarded the Superior Unit Award for exceptional performance during the Engineer Restructuring Initiative on Fort
Riley.

On August 30, 1999 the Battalion deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of SFOR-6. The battalion
helped provide a stable and secure
environment so the benefits of democracy and freedom might flourish. To this end, the battalion conducted reconnaissance of over 1,230 kilometers of routes and 298 bridges; destroyed 116,000 anti-personnel land mines; constructed 30 kilometers of roads and 5 bridges; supervised Entity Armed Forces' clearance of more than 43,000 square miles of minefields; and distributed toys, clothing, and humanitarian aid to Bosnian children and homeless families.

In September 2003, the battalion deployed to the Ar Ramadi area of Iraq in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom II. During its time in Iraq, the
battalion was active in fixed site security, route clearance, cache searches, cordon and
searches, raids, Traffic
Control Points, force protection, and construction projects. The battalion's efforts
succeeded in destroying large quantities of enemy supplies and ammunition and assisted in to
capture of numerous insurgents. The battalion's hard work and perseverance served to greatly curtail the
activities of insurgents in Al Anbar province, assisting in the security and well-being of the citizens of that area and enabling to move
forward on the path to a stable, democratic Iraq. The battalion returned in late 2004 and
received the Valorous Unit Award for actions during OIF II.

On September 20, 2006, the battalion deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 15 months the battalion had over 1800 lED events, and over 500,000 KM of desert roads were
patrolled with over 500 CLP's
conducted. The BN was diversified with 111 th Sapper CO up at FOB Marez, 41 st MAC, and FSC at COB Speicher, HSC at LSAA Anaconda, 72nd MAC at FOB Warhorse. The battalion returned to Fort Riley in December of 2007 having successfully accomplished its Route Clearance mission in Iraq.

In July 2009 the 41st
Clearance Company deployed to the RC-East Area of
Operations in Afghanistan to provide route clearance
assets for three separate brigade combat teams and the
Polish Battle Group.

In November 2009 the 1st
Engineer Battalion deployed in support of OIF IX-X. The 1st Engineer
Battalion conducted engineer operations in United
States Division - North (USD-N) in
Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion
conducted route clearance along
assigned Division routes while concurrently
partnering with the 4th and 12th Iraqi Army Field Engineer Regiments in a
modified Advise and Assist role in order to help these
FERs become mission capable. For actions
in Iraq, the battalion was awarded
its fifth Meritorious Unit Citation.

In September 2012, the
battalion once again answered our
Nation's call and
deployed to Regional Command-East, Afghanistan. As
Task Force Diehard, headquartered at FOB Shank, the battalion assumed
control of all mobility, counter-mobility, survivability, general engineering, and engineer
partnerships in the Logar, Wardak, Nangahar, Kunar, Laghman and
Kapisa Provinces. Over the 9 month
deployment, the battalion assumed responsibility for all
engineer operations in RC-East; thus adding
Kabul, Paktika, Paktiya, and Ghazni Provinces. By
April 20l3, the task
force was 1100 Soldier strong with six combat engineer
and two construction companies. The Battalion
returned to Fort Riley in June 20l3. For actions in
Afghanistan, the battalion was again
awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation.

In November 2013, after 2162 days, the Diehard Battalion was again reassigned back to
the l st Infantry Division, the Big Red One. In
October of 2014, the Battalion was
restructured from an Engineer pure Battalion to a
Brigade Engineer Battalion, consolidating assets from the Signal
Corps, Military Intelligence Corps, and Logistics Branches.
In October 2016, America's Oldest and Most Decorated Engineer Battalion marked its
first visit to the
Korean Peninsula with a deployment to Camp Hovey, South Korea. The mission
of the Diehard Battalion was to enable
1ABCT to deter North Korean aggression and maintain
peace on the Korean Peninsula; and, if
deterrence failed, enable the
Devil Brigade to "Fight Tonight"
in support of the US-ROK Alliance. The Diehard Battalion
supported national
interests in the Korean Theater of Operations by preparing for non-combatant
evacuation operations (NEO), counter weapons of mass destruction (CWMD) operations, relocating
elements of the battalion from Area I into
Area III, and integrating
enablers in support of the brigade. The battalion
redeployed to Ft Riley, Kansas in June 2017.

The
1st Engineer Battalion continues to serve our country in
the proud tradition of the many Diehards of years gone
by. Our colors, heavy with battle streamers, are a proud
testimony to our continued dedication to the defense of
this great nation.